Chris Wright gets my vote for the following reasons. He was the most highly touted recruit
BG has brought to the program. His choice of UD has helped BG attract other fine players from the area. He has a terrific winning streak in the UD arena and the best is yet to come.
His play at both ends of the court at winning time (the final 3 minutes of each half) has resulted in many Flyer wins. His play in the NCAA game last year against West Virginia led to the Flyers being a pre-season top 25 team this year. I hope he continues to get better and wins the POY in the Atlantic 10 conference this year.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

Chris Wright may have a great impact on a game, but he is not even close to the best player. He also has a supporting cast around him that many others did not get to have.

B-Rob is by far and away the best player of the past 10 years, it isn't even a discussion. My favorite player ever is Keith Waleskowski, but even I know the best skills on the court belonged to Roberts.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

No contest. Brian Roberts has to be the player of the decade. No one comes close. If 6'5", he would be starting for an NBA team right now. If having Chris Wright's body, BRob would be an NBA all-star.

BRob played on some not very good teams. He didn't have much of a cast around him, unlike Chris Wright or KW.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

Backbone of a team that won the A10 and another NCAA appearance. Great stats, great leader, great drinker.

I love me some B-Rob, his efforts against Louisville and Pitt were truly legendary, but due to circumstances out of his control (supporting cast was lacking, injury to Wright) he never won the A10 and sadly, never made the NCAA. It's very close IMO, almost a 1 and 1a type thing, but the extra accomplishments tip the scale in Wally's favor. Stats, schmats. Give me hardware and accomplishments.

I agree Wally got more accolades because of his supporting cast and that is mainly why he is my favorite player, better memories.

That wasn't the question though, B-Rob was by far the best player on the court. He was unstoppable, even when teams double and triple teamed him. Unstoppable. Keith was never, ever double teamed because of Finn and Ramod.

My three other favorite players, RM, BH, and CW are also up there, but theres no way any one else comes close. BRob carried his team. He had a little help, but not much. He hit any shot he wanted. He was the definition of clutch. He was absolutely money. Without him, especially with the injury to CW, we aren't even in the NIT his senior year.

Personally, I think that we have yet to see Chris Wright's total impact on UD basketball. His press far exceeds any other single player. His impact on recruiting could possibly be the thing that pushes us into the next echlon of D-1 basketball. Our recruiting classes are getting better each year. Chris's presence has jumpstarted our local Dayton recruiting. He has two post-seasons to yet unfold. He got us the only NCAA win we have since peach basket goals. To date, he is not the single best fundamental player. But you can counter that by saying his total athleticism will give him the best "chance" of being the first Flyer to stick in the NBA someday. No other Flyer comes close to that statement. Brian Roberts, who I think is the most accomplished player skill-wise in this decade, will never make the NBA because he is a "tweener" like Chapman was.

Odds are Wright will be the single greatest influence on Dayton basketball ever, because his presence has counted for so much more than his play.

But that jury is still out. It's too early to vote.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

CHRIS WRIGHT- never has lossed at the arena.. Best rebounder. Best dunker, and best athlete. Best player ever in transition, top power forward defender... Most underrated player of decade. Only in middle of junior yr.. to say its Brian Roberts, well he never won anything and had a few players quit and transfer while he was here. The guy had a green light his whole career, and and scored plenty.
but who did he stop on the other end of the court, and never led his team like Negelle Knight. I loved BR but, CW like no other in this decade, is worth the 3500 i pay.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

I agree Wally got more accolades because of his supporting cast and that is mainly why he is my favorite player, better memories.

That wasn't the question though, B-Rob was by far the best player on the court. He was unstoppable, even when teams double and triple teamed him. Unstoppable. Keith was never, ever double teamed because of Finn and Ramod.

In what way is it not the question? It's opinion based. There is no single criteria for "Player of the Decade". Outside of picking Stan King, there is no wrong answer.

It's opinion based. There is no single criteria for "Player of the Decade". Outside of picking Stan King, there is no wrong answer.

While I think B-Rob is clearly the choice, I can understand why fans would choose Chris Wright or Keith W. What I can't understand is why somebody would actually vote for Tony Stanley. Those close to the program would cringe at the thought of Tony Stanley being the face of the 2000-2009 Flyers.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

BRob, KW and CW all have great arguments to be the best player of the decade, but I go with BRob in the narrow vote. The other two have more post season accomplishments, but I believe the team was never ranked as high in the season as BRob's team his senior year at #14. To lead the program back to national rankings after the years of adversity and mediocrity his class saw during their time here was nothing short of amazing.

What I love about this vote is the similarities of how KW's and BRob's careers started vs how CW came to the program. Both BRob and KW were unheralded recruits in large classes of heralded recruits (Nucleaus Smith, anyone?), both of them saw other members of their class transfer/quit/get kicked off the team over their tenure, and ultimately both finished their careers as legends of the program. CW came in as a legend and has certainly lived up to it thus far.

Personally my favorite player of the decade is by far Ramod, followed by CJ, but my Player of the Decade goes to Mr. Brian Roberts. GO FLYERS!!!

For starters...He's the only UD player in the decade that played four years and didn't graduate. Without getting too personal, he was no saint off the court either.

In the brief time I was at UD we shared some mutuals friends and hung out a few times. Certainly he was no saint, but I really had no problems with his overall character. My problem with him being the face of our program would be that I believe he really underachieved on the court, for the talent that he had, his teams should have achieved more.

I think Waleskowski had the most impact on a game as a player. I think that Chris Wright has already had a bigger impact on the program by attracting a higher level of teammate (and locals) just by his presence. It was his commitment to UD that was the turning point where other recruits (mainly locals) really started to believe that we had something very good forming at UD. He also is attracting national publicity and notoriety throughout his whole career so far. For the last few years, when pundits/fans/etc think of UD basketball, Chris Wright is the first thing that comes to mind. He is the face of the program behind BG.

I called him a potential program changer when he commited to us, and I think he is transforming us more than any other player this decade. He made it cool to buy into the system and work hard over the off-season. Lots of players had a hand in changing the culture, but his impact is the largest, IMO.

That is the logic that I use to vote for Chris Wright as the "UD Player of the Decade". It's his long term impact on the program that I value the most.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

CAREER STATS
2007-08 10.4ppg 5.7rpg

__________________"This is a giant criminal enterprise disguised as a foundation and disguised as a campaign" Newt Gingrich

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

CAREER STATS
2007-08 10.4ppg 5.7rpg

Brooks Hall

BROOKS HALL
6-6 205lb Troy HS | Troy (OH)

Cool, calm, cerebral wing player who finished among the Top-25 scorers in Flyer history. Deadly three-point shot and excellent passing skills. Helped Dayton reach two NCAA tournaments under Oliver Purnell. Consensus Top-125 recruit out of Troy HS in 1999 where he was D-I First Team All-Ohio and the media's choice for Ohio Mr. Basketball.

This is kind of like the Heisman or MVP awards. There's no real set criteria. If you're asking who was the best offensive player, best shooter, best defender, best free throw shooter, etc, you can quantify those things.

Player of the Decade does not necessarily mean any of those things. I voted for BRob because he was the third all time scorer for UD, came up big in many big games, essentially carried the team for two seasons by himself, and did so playing out of position. I wish he'd have stepped up a little more, but I don't think any player was better.

I love Chris Wright, and he led us to our only NCAA win in the decade, but he's only been part of the team for 2 1/2 years (really 2 years with the injury). It's hard to give a 10 year award to a guy who was part of the team for 2 years. But man, the impact he's had on the program is amazing. He has changed the culture of UD, more than I think BRob did. That's not something you can quantify.

I like the poll, and if you count the decade from 2001 to 2010, then I will pick Wright when someone asks this question next year. I also hope to have a new NBA team to follow, but that's a different debate.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

At this point, Brian Roberts is the only one who would be in the debate about best UD player of all-time. He's a clear choice for Player of the Decade. Chris Wright still has a season and a half, which should be his best season and a half, to make his case. But those won't be in this decade. KW was great but unless you're giving bonus points for style (his hardworking, blue-collar reputation) I don't see an argument for choosing him over Roberts.

If you'd like to change this to Recruit of the Decade, Chris Wright wins. Even if he never reaches his NBA potential he has already changed the recruiting level here, and that impact is greater than Roberts on-court contributions.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

If you want to play that game, Tony Stanley shouldn't even be on the list. He had one full year in this decade, and it wasn't even a great one. Including Stanley's 1997 to 1999 production in this poll opens the door for Wright's whole career also.

How can the third or fourth (can't remember) leading scorer in the entire history of the school ... a guy who also dished out 350 plus assists and grabbed 350 plus rebounds ... and was one of the best three point shooters in the history of the school ... with no freaking supporting class and having to switch positions ... be even in question?

Roberts is not only the player of the decade, he may a top five player of all-time. Tell me everyone saw the same senior season I did? The season where he was double and tripled teamed the entire year and still scored like 18 a game?

I like the question on a slow week ... but B-Rob was the man and after Wally and Finn, MJ is probably ahead of CW (since CW's career is not over and he hasn't played his best ball yet) and he isn't even on this list.

How can the third or fourth (can't remember) leading scorer in the entire history of the school ... a guy who also dished out 350 plus assists and grabbed 350 plus rebounds ... and was one of the best three point shooters in the history of the school ... with no freaking supporting class and having to switch positions ... be even in question?

Maybe because there was another player in the decade who played on consecutive NCAA tournament teams (the first time in nearly 2 decades), was only the sixth UD player ever to get 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds, putting him in the company of all-time Dayton greats like Finkle, May, Uhl, Horan, and Perryman, and that actually won 20 games in each season he played in.

If you're simply looking flash and offensive prowess, I'll acknowldge that Brian Roberts is your guy. if you're looking for the guy who hated to lose and was the best and most consistent player on both ends of the court, I submit that it has to be Keith Waleskowski. That's not intended to diminish Brian Roberts' career. But, I just think KW had the better and more outstanding overall career and therefore is more deserving.

Regarding Chris Wright, he deserves to be in the discussion. For me, the fact that his career isn't complete is a hindrance from voting him as the player of the decade. But, there is a strong argument in favor of him.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

If you put BRob on a team with Chris Wright ... Chris Wright would look like a genius. The point being .... BRob made everybody else around him better, he drew double if not triple teams, and he carried the Flyers on his back for the better part of 4 years. CW intermixes moments of sheer brilliance and solid work ethic, with poor decision making and lack of body control. I don't remember a game that BRob fouled out of. Did he ever? Keep in mind that BRob played out of position for at least 2 of those years. All of this was done during a time when the program was in major transition, with a young unproven coach and not much belief in the system that was put in place. It wasn't long ago that folks were heating up Gregory's seat.

Not sure CW ends up at UD without BRob having laid the ground work for success.

My second choice would be KW. Nobody competed like he did. Nobody.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

CAREER STATS
2007-08 10.4ppg 5.7rpg

Brian Gregory

BRIAN GREGORY
UD Men's Basketball Head Coach since 2004. Groomed by the likes of Judd Heathcoate and Tom Izzo at Michigan State, as well as Kevin O'Neill and others, Gregory's defensive-minded leadership has led Dayton to NCAA and multiple NIT appearances. A good recruiter, BG has elevated the athleticism of the squad in recent years and kept top area talent at home. Still looking for that breakthrough season with his own players that catapult him to the NCAA tourney. Graduated from Oakland University.

Cool, calm, cerebral wing player who finished among the Top-25 scorers in Flyer history. Deadly three-point shot and excellent passing skills. Helped Dayton reach two NCAA tournaments under Oliver Purnell. Consensus Top-125 recruit out of Troy HS in 1999 where he was D-I First Team All-Ohio and the media's choice for Ohio Mr. Basketball.

I agree with your second choice of KW. I would also agree that nobody competed like KW in this decade. Other all-time competitors to consider:
Ryan Perryman, Don May, Sedric Toney, Dave Colbert, Bucky Bockhorn, and Bobby Joe Hooper.

Bucky Bockhorn

ARLEN 'BUCKY' BOCKHORN
Known as "The Legend", Bockhorn played basketball for Tom Blackburn in the 1950s and went on to a career in the NBA. Tabbed NBA Rookie of the Year in his first season, he also played alongside Oscar Robertson for the now-defunct Cincinnati Royals. Buckhorn has been the color man for UD basketball games for years and teams with play-by-play announcer Larry Hansgen on NewsTalk Radio 1290AM and 95.7FM.

Clearly B-Rob, but I love seeing Ramod Marshall's name on the list. He was one of my all-time favorites. Like Roberts, a very good natural scorer who made the switch to PG because it was what the team needed. He was a huge part of the run in the early part of the decade.

It's hard for me to see someone who NEVER even played in the NCAA tournament to be the player of the decade. I think that Roberts is the most skilled player that played at UD this decade, but I measure success in terms of winning, and Roberts didn't do that. As much as I hate to say it, Chris Wright is the player of the decade to me because he was a big part of the team that won it's first NCAA tournament game since 1990. Success should be measured as a team, and Roberts was a part of some really average teams, so that disqualifies him from consideration for me. My favorite player of the decade (and all time really) has to be Tony Stanley, I remember loving his intensity and big shots that he hit during his career.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

This started as a question about the "player of the decade"...but the subsequent discussion seems to be about the "best" or "most valuable" player.

For sure, Chris is not yet in Brian's league when it comes to consistent, accomplished play at a very high level. So, I would opt for BR as the "best" of the decade. But, if Chris's arrival was responsible for a significant elevation in the level of HS player that chose UD, then CW may well be the "most valuable".

One thing that interests me about the list of candidates is the absence of even a single player that is now playing "at the highest level".

If team performance is a factor here then why is the question ... best Flyer player of the decade? It's not any one players fault that they didn't get in, or didn't win a game in the NCAA's. If that's the case then KW is a TRIPLE overtime loss to DePaul from being 'tied' with CW in this category (not too mention two NIT's and two NCAA's during that period). BRob is a selection committee's split hair and a broken foot away from the dance. BRob is a Trent Meachum away from this not even being a discussion whatsoever and likely the #1 scorer in UD history. This 'team' criteria for an individual sort of accolade makes no sense. When you play on teams that had more pieces in place, and had 3-4 years of momentum and coaching behind them, you are more likely to have experienced tournament play at it's highest level. Both KW and CW benifited from being on teams, that relative to the program and coach, were hitting on all cylinders by the time they arrived. BRob clearly did not ... and yet he put the Flyers on his shoulder's and took decent talent to a pretty high level of competition.

Still confused why people keep saying BRob never won anything? During his time we averaged 18.5 wins and made a quarterfinal NIT run ... not bad given the fluidity of the team (transfers) and the caliber of his teammates during this time period.

Still confused why people keep saying BRob never won anything? During his time we averaged 18.5 wins and made a quarterfinal NIT run ... not bad given the fluidity of the team (transfers) and the caliber of his teammates during this time period.

I assume they mean he never made it to the NCAA Tournament. Another all-time Flyer great never made it to the NCAA, but he was pretty good - Jim Paxson. Ryan Perryman never made it either. Those may be the three best UD players to have never made it to the NCAA, kind of like the best golfer to have never won a major. (The players of the 50's didn't go to the NCAA because the NIT was bigger at that time.)

If team performance is a factor here then why is the question ... best Flyer player of the decade? It's not any one players fault that they didn't get in, or didn't win a game in the NCAA's. If that's the case then KW is a TRIPLE overtime loss to DePaul from being 'tied' with CW in this category (not too mention two NIT's and two NCAA's during that period). BRob is a selection committee's split hair and a broken foot away from the dance. BRob is a Trent Meachum away from this not even being a discussion whatsoever and likely the #1 scorer in UD history. This 'team' criteria for an individual sort of accolade makes no sense. When you play on teams that had more pieces in place, and had 3-4 years of momentum and coaching behind them, you are more likely to have experienced tournament play at it's highest level. Both KW and CW benifited from being on teams, that relative to the program and coach, were hitting on all cylinders by the time they arrived. BRob clearly did not ... and yet he put the Flyers on his shoulder's and took decent talent to a pretty high level of competition.

Still confused why people keep saying BRob never won anything? During his time we averaged 18.5 wins and made a quarterfinal NIT run ... not bad given the fluidity of the team (transfers) and the caliber of his teammates during this time period.

100 percent correct. There is no discussion when it comes to B-Rob as a player ... all those other guys aren't even close.

Most Valuable Player to a certain team is obviously Wally or Wright ... best player no question who it is.

If you are considered a top five player of all time and had a crappy supporting cast there is no contest.

Again, I'm not intending to dimish Roberts career, but in the final analysis, Brian Roberts was not able to offer a significant career accomplishment other than statistical ones. I do not think that can be overlooked. It's not enough to fill the stat sheet. In the final analysis, I will always ask the question: Did your teams win? The goal isn't to be a great individual scorer, the goal is to be on a winning basketball team.

As such, when you look at the most successful teams of the decade, the players who were the key parts of that success were KW and CW. KW has the stats and the wins. CW hasn't had enough time to create the stats, but his winning percentage is superb. If I had CW's complete career to look at in this decade, I'd probably vote Wright in first, but as it stands today, KW wins the honor in my book. Only great players can score 1500 points and grab 1000 rebounds. KW did that. Only five other Flyer players did it, and they are all considered the very greatest Flyer players of their generation (Horan, Uhl, Finkel, May, and Perryman.) That's my argument, and I'm sticking with it.

This very much is in the eye of the beholder. It's completely subjective. Nobody is wrong here. But, it is an error to think that there was one clear cut choice for a decade that was so chock full of great moments.

BTW, I think it's likely that Chris Wright joins that list with KW should he stay for a senior season.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

Chris Wright because he has been a huge difference maker in this decade for the Flyers.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.

I think Chris Wright should be the player of the decade because if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have won an NCAA Tournament game last year. It's the first one won since Negele Knight(our last NBA player BTW) when we beat Illinois in the first round. Knight also is the all-time leader in assists per game, season and career at UD. I'd pick CW from a team leader standpoint.

Chris Wright

CHRIS WRIGHT
6-8 225lb | Trotwood Madison, HS (OH)

A10 All Rookie Team. Preseason 2008 2nd Team All A10. Member of the UD Flight Club with a 40+ inch vertical leap. Consensus Top-75 national recruit. Uncle is former Flyer J.D. Grigsby. Nickname is Top Flyght.